Though a new, more humane structure to house the incarcerated is needed in Philadelphia, it should be erected only after fully funding schools and making serious reforms to the criminal justice system.
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The talk of the town in Philadelphia for the last few days has been the City’s plan to buy a certain tract land for which to erect a new House of Corrections to replace the dilapidated, outdated and, some may say, inhumane structure that’s currently situated on State Road.
The conversation, as expected, has become polarizing, with the majority of vocal Philadelphians demanding fully funded schools before prison construction, while the remainder of those engaged in the dialogue, the minorities in this case, either want no new prison or a new prison only after certain reforms to the criminal justice system are made.
Ms. Melony Newport, however, is an academic who’s standing at the intersection of all three stances; acknowledging, first and foremost, the squalor and ruin in which many prisoners, a large portion of whom haven’t yet been convicted on a crime, are forced to reside.
“We should be ashamed that we do not house our citizens in a space that reflects the dignity and integrity of our criminal justice process,” Ms. Newport said yesterday when testifying before City Council on Resolution 150406, which was slated for a vote, but was tabled at the last minute.
Ms. Newport, a PhD candidate at Temple University who researches bail policy history, added:
“With that said, moving towards purchasing land for a new jail is extremely wrong-headed at this time.”
A source within City Council told me this was Mayor Michael Nutter’s bill that Councilman Bobby Henon was asked to shepherd through the legislative body.
The genesis for the bill, allegedly, was several lawsuits against the City for overcrowded facilities. And though it would seem as if building a new, larger, state-of-the-art facility would mitigate those issue, as Mr. Juwan Bennett, a criminal justice teaching assistant at Temple University and first year PhD student notes, “without reforms to the bail process and an end to mass incarceration, the next prison, and the ones after that, will be overcrowded soon, too.”
Mr. Bennett and Ms. Newport, both scholars at one of Philly’s most famed institution, are both correct. This plan to buy land is the literal manifestation of the term: putting the cart before the horse.
Before any land should be purchased and prison erected, here are three things Philadelphia’s elected officials must ensure are enacted.
A school district that’s fully funded, in a sustainable fashion, and that’s accountable to the public in a manner that’s measurable year-over-year:
It would behoove the city not to give the appearance of feeding the school-to-prison pipeline by passing an ordinance to buy land for a prison, while refusing to give the district the $105 million in new, reoccurring funding its pleading for. It would also behoove Philadelphians to not give to appearance of feeding the school-to-prison pipeline by not voting in elections when judges are up for scrutiny. But nonetheless, the schools needs funding and taxpayers need accountability; both these should be handled before a conversations resumes about spending money for a tract of land on State Road.
Reform the bail process: too many poor black and black people are behind bars simply because they can’t afford bail:
As long as I live, I will never forget the story of Mr. Tomayo McDuffy, a young black man from Holmesburg that was swiftly arrested and placed at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (CFCF) after his blind, mentally-ill next door neighborhood accused him of attempted murder. Mr. McDuffy, with no criminal record, was given a $500,000 bail, which eventually was lowered to $100,000 after activists took the fight to the Office of the District Attorney.
The bail was paid by Mr. Greg Brinkley, a private investigator on the case of Mr. Brandon Tate-Brown, who also investigated Mr. McDuffy’s case.
A year after Mr. Brinkley and his associates presented evidence clearing Mr. McDuffy of any wrong doing, Mr. Seth Williams, the District Attorney of Philadelphia, announced his office would drop the charges, though they never issued an apology for their incompetence.
Mr. McDuffy’s story, one of a person jailed for an extended period because of prosecutorial misconduct and/or they couldn’t make bail, is duplicated throughout the many lives currently on State Road. A serious analysis and reform to this process is long overdue.
De-crowd the prisons
Philadelphia could mitigate overcrowded prisons by releasing the majority of those accused – not charged – with non-violent offenses back into society with close monitoring by the courts until their trial – they’re innocent until proven guilty, right?
I know Philadelphia isn’t a place known for prevention, logic and political common sense, but this issue is a great time to try that image on for size.
*Tune into 900amWURD or 900amWURD.com every Friday evening during the 6 o’clock hour to hear me relive #TheWeekThatWas*
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™